Once you begin making any home improvement or work in your yard, there will come a time when you need to calculate the number of wheelbarrows of something.
Much of the back and forth is depending on your wheelbarrow size, yet from this, you can determine the number of trips you’ll need to make.
One of the most common things will be concrete, although you can also have sand and mulch in equal measure.
In our guide, you can learn all you need to calculate the number of load it will take to accomplish your job.
By the end, you’ll know what a cubic yard is, how to calculate it, and how to determine lots more besides.
What is a Cubic Yard
A yard is an area of measurement, and one yard is equal to 3 feet.
With one cubic yard, this is 3 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet in height.
To picture this, think of a crate that’s 3 feet high, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet long. The total area of this is 27 cubic feet. (Read DIY Garden Ideas On A Budget)
When you measure cubic yards for materials, it’s much different than measuring weight.
For example, when you look at how much mulch in a yard, it can weigh around 800 to 1000 pounds in a cubic yard. Compare to other garden materials such as soil, the same cubic yard could weigh over double.
If you compare this to gravel, you can see this maybe three times as heavy for the same area.
One cubic yard of any material still fills the same area regardless of the weight. Besides the weight of various materials, you will be able to know how many trips or volume of materials you require based on the yards of your area.
Wheelbarrow Sizes to Yards
Common wheelbarrow sizes are 2 cubic and 3 cubic loads. Or, as you may see them 2 or 3 cubic foot sized wheelbarrows.
For instance, it takes 14 – 2 cubic sized wheelbarrows to equal 1 yard. For example, it takes 14 of the smaller wheelbarrows, which means you will have 4 – 5 wheelbarrows per delivery of anything to make compared to the following.
For 3 cubic loads, it only takes 9 to make up a yard. Compare this to the smaller wheelbarrow equals 4 -5 wheelbarrows less in trips over your garden.
However, much of this is depending upon your wheelbarrow because some materials could be too heavy to move over certain surfaces.
3 cubic sized wheelbarrows are the normal and are used the most. Furthermore, how many wheelbarrows full of concrete does it take to make one yard?
A typical contractor ’s wheelbarrow delivers a volume of around 6 cubic feet. If you do the math, 27 cubic feet per cubic yard divided by 6 cubic feet per wheelbarrow equals 4. 5 wheelbarrows per cubic yard. (Find the Best Portable Workbench)
When looking at the weight, a construction wheelbarrow full of concrete can weigh nearly four hundred pounds.
In the same breath, how many wheelbarrows per cubic yard of earth. One yard of earth equaling 9 to 14 wheelbarrows covers 55 square feet at 6” deep.
Furthermore, you can look at how many wheelbarrows are in a ton of dirt? Depending upon your wheelbarrow size (i .e. 2 or 3 cubic feet per wheelbarrow load), it takes 9 to 14 full loads to equal 1 cubic yard.
You can work out how many full wheelbarrow loads it takes to equal any number of cubic yards. For example, a 2 cubic foot wheelbarrow is usually very shallow.
How Much Does a Cubic Yard of Gravel Weigh?
If you are making concrete for some home improvement, you’ll need to know your materials’ weight and quantities. (Read Sizes of Light Bulbs)
You have seen the number of cubic feet per wheelbarrow, so once you know the weights of your materials, you can calculate your wheelbarrow loads. Much of this, though, will depend upon your wheelbarrow size.
1 cubic yard of gravel can weigh in the region of 2,200 lbs. Depending on your wheelbarrow size i. e 2 cubic foot wheelbarrow would be 2,200 divided by 14 for each trip’s weight to equal 1 cubic yard of gravel.
3 cubic foot sized, you would have 2,200 divided by 9 for each wheelbarrow weight (1 yard 3 cubic sized barrow)load.
How Much Does a Yard of Sand Weigh?
When you want to know the weight of 3 cubic feet of sand (1 cubic yard), it will be vastly different from the gravel as it is denser.
All the gaps in the gravel are air, so it can’t weigh as much. Sand is packed, and though the wheelbarrow has a volume the same, it is just the amount of material that fits.
It is worth noting that with the weight of sand for 1 yard or three feet, doing the math will take you many more loads to equal 1 yard.
Sand can weigh around 1,000 pounds more than gravel to fill the same area. The weight depends on how much load it will take, although there is more to it than the wheelbarrow size.
The operator, design of the wheelbarrow, and the surface you have to traverse make a difference.
How Heavy is a Wheelbarrow Full of Concrete?
If you were using Readymix, a construction wheelbarrow would hold around 400 pounds. Your construction option is around a 6 cubic foot wheelbarrow.
Concerning this, if you were to use a 2 cubic foot wheelbarrow, it would weigh around 135 pounds per cubic foot. It would also take your 2 cubic foot wheelbarrow three times as long and more wheelbarrow loads to haul the same amount of material.
A 1 yard for (3 cubic) feet per sized wheelbarrow would sit in the middle of the two in full loads to equal the same delivery amount and wheelbarrow loads.
If you were hauling mulch, you might find the equation for volume goes out of the window. The number of wheelbarrow loads may be more. Yet you are carrying far weight at one time in your 3 cubic foot wheelbarrow.
The construction wheelbarrow will still be 2 cubic yards, and your yard to cover is still the same 27 cubic feet.
However, even if you are only carrying a few feet per wheelbarrow load, it will be less strenuous, even if there are many wheelbarrow loads on top.
All you need to do is calculate your weight of 400 pounds for the weight of mulch and multiply this by the yards of mulch you require. (Find the Best No Kink Garden Hose)
Depending on the cubic foot sized wheelbarrow you have, you can calculate the cubic yards between your 2 or 3 cubic foot wheelbarrow, and then calculate your overall wheelbarrow loads from your cubic yards.
You can find a 3 cubic foot sized wheelbarrow is way too small, and you need to construction wheelbarrow if you can get one.
